Informatization and Religion

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In this research the relationship between the informatization of the society on one hand and the transformation of religion on the other was examined. We have selected following aspects of Japanese religion in order to investigate the above relationship. (1) So called 'Neo-New Religions' of the 1970s and 80s with respect to their group organization and information control ; (2) Features of the interpersonal relationship found in Human Potential Movements and New Age movement ; (3) Consciousness and relationships of those who are interested in unconventional type of funerals and graves in recent years ; (4) The reason of the rapid popularization of the ritual behaviors conducted to calm the spirits of the aborted fetuses since 1970s ; (5) Changing pattern of the yearly rituals and festivals and features of consciousness of those who participate in them ; (6) Various way of utilizing the new media technology in religious groups old and new ; (7) Long range change of media utilized for divination. These subjects were investigated empirically by each researcher and findings were compared through a series of discussions in which some general observations were derived. We have also attempted to gather some data on Western countries especially on the United States in order to carry out some comparative study on informatization and religion. Through these researches we could understand the changing way in which people interact with each other and also the way in which religious information is communicated in the informatized society. We have also found some characteristics of cultural aspects of informatization in Japanese society through religious perspective.